HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team's (5-10, 1-7 CC) 2022 season came to a close as the Fords were turned away by No. 17 Franklin & Marshall (12-4, 5-3 CC) by a score of 15-11 on Saturday at Swan Field. Haverford finished the season eighth in the conference and sixth in goals scored. Before the game, seven seniors (Blake Brinster, Max Elliott, Nate Ruhl, Gabe Durso, Wyatt Feinberg, Sean Mowatt-Larssen, and Gray Pollock) were honored for their contributions to the program.
The game started with F&M willing to shoot from just about anywhere. In the first eight minutes of play, the Diplomats fired off ten shots, connecting on two. Facing a 2-0 deficit, the Fords ended the period with four unanswered goals. Eric Dahlberg scored the opening goal for Haverford. At the same time, Jonathan Moon and Mowatt-Larssen followed that strike up with two more goals. Dahlberg scored the final goal of the first period at the 2:26 mark.
F&M worked to even things up in the second period. However, the Diplomats didn't just tie things up, they went on to outscore Haverford 6-1 in the period. The lone goal for the Fords came from Blake Brinster on a man-up opportunity. F&M finished the half shooting 33 times compared to Haverford's 24 attempts.
With the score sitting at 8-5 at the half, the Fords remained competitive. Will Graves scored the opening goal of the third period at the 13:22 mark, decreasing the deficit to just two. A.J. Rigbsy's goal one minute later pushed the lead back to three; however, Mowatt-Larssen cut back into the lead at the 11:11 mark. At that moment, F&M took complete control of the rest period's final ten minutes. F&M scored four goals to make the score 13-7 going into the fourth.
Haverford scored first for the second straight period, but Mowatt-Larssen's goal was quickly answered with two tallies from F&M. With five minutes remaining and the game seemingly out of reach given the time left, Haverford looked to go out on a high note. Mowatt-Larssen scored on a pass from Gray Pollock for the first of three straight goals to end the game. Wyatt Feinberg put his stamp on his Senior Day with two goals in the final three minutes as he also finished the game with three ground balls and six shots in a solid all-around effort.
Colby Freeman started the game in the cage and registered 16 saves. Haverford senior Mowatt-Larssen scored four goals on the day, giving him 35 goals for the season. Eric Dahlberg finished with two goals and four ground balls. Just edging out Dahlberg for the team lead was Devin Lefkowitz with five ground balls. Haverford won 15 of the 28 faceoffs, thanks to Teddy Carlin, who finished 13-of-20 at the X. However, the Fords were outshot 63-42 by the Diplomats.
Haverford concludes its campaign with a 5-10 overall record and a 1-7 mark in Centennial Conference play. Despite losing seven seniors, the Fords return much of a young roster as many of them made an impact in their first full season in three years. Look for players like Matt Richards, Teddy Carlin, Will Graves, and many more to make considerable strides in the 2023 season.